Impact Of Integrated Pest Management Research Articles

Determinants of Adoption of Integrated Pest Management Practices Among Maize Farmers in Southwest Nigeria

Summary The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of integrated pest management (IPM) adoption among maize farmers in Southwest Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to collect information from 360 respondents (namely 180 adopters and 180 non-adopters of IPM) from Osun and Ekiti States, Nigeria. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and probit regression models. The descriptive statistics results obtained on the respondents’ awareness of IPM practices indicate that a majority (74.2%) of the respondents are aware of IPM practices. Most of the respondents (98.9%) were categorized as adopters of IPM. The probit regression analysis results revealed that the respondent’s gender, farm size, access to enough credit, land ownership and the environmental impact of IPM were significant coefficients, potentially increasing the adoption of IPM at various levels. The findings obtained suggest that the government and financial institutions should assist farmers by offering readily available loans at a low or no interest rate and by making essential inputs available to farmers at a subsidize rate.

Perspective: enhancing economic evaluations and impacts of integrated pest management Farmer Field Schools (IPM-FFS) in low-income countries.

Over the last few decades, the use of Farmer Field Schools (FFS) have been considered one of the best approaches to disseminate integrated pest management (IPM) practices that aim to reduce reliance on and misuse of chemical pest control methods in agriculture. However, the published empirical literature has been decidedly mixed in terms of the effectiveness of the IPM-FFS approach to improve economic outcomes in the short-term (e.g. reduce chemical use, improve profits), and the potential for scaling-up and IPM dissemination in the medium-term. This article briefly explores the empirical IPM-FFS literature and draws implications for future research directions that can potentially enhance IPM knowledge diffusion methods (including IPM-FFS) and increase the economic impact of IPM techniques in low-income countries. We find that promising research directions to improve understanding of IPM dissemination and IPM impacts will need to involve: (i) interdisciplinary long-run studies using rigorous evaluation methods; (ii) in-depth assessments of spillover effects; (iii) careful examination of IPM and IPM-FFS impact heterogeneity; (iv) evaluation of novel IPM packages with herbicide- and genetics-centered components; (v) piloting and impact assessments of alternative IPM knowledge diffusion structures; and (vi) piloting and impact analysis of IPM dissemination and learning programs with private sector involvement. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effects of Integrated Pest Management on Pest Damage and Yield Components in a Rice Agro-Ecosystem in the Barisal Region of Bangladesh

Recently, recognition of negative environmental impacts associated with overuse of pesticides in the agricultural regions of Bangladesh has made it clear that unsustainable pest-control strategies must change. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) was developed for use as a tool in the production of healthy, sustainably grown food. A strategic approach to crop-pest control, IPM aims to minimize pest populations by combining environmentally friendly pest-control methods and economically viable farming practices. This study examined the impact of IPM on insect damage to crop-yield parameters in a rice agro-ecosystem. IPM methods tested were: 1) collection of egg masses; 2) sweeping (using a funnel shaped net to capture insects); 3) perching (installing a branch or pole which serves as a resting place for predatory birds); and 4) Economic Threshold Level (ETL) based insecticide application (The ETL is the point at which the value of the crop destroyed exceeds the cost of controlling the pest). We also examined the effects of prophylactic insecticide application and current management practices on rice yield. Rice-yield indicators included number of healthy tillers, number of hills, central leaf drying (Dead Heart), and grain-less panicles (White Head). For two consecutive years, the lowest percentages of Dead Heart (1.23 and 1.55) and White Head (2.06) were found in the IPM-treated plots. Further, the IPM-treated plots had higher yields (7.3-7.5 ton/ha) compared with the non-IPM treatments (6.28-7.02 ton/ha). The location of the plots appeared to be non-significant for all measured yield components. The effect of treatment on the percentage of Dead Heart, White Head, number of hills, and yield was statistically significant (p ≤ 0.05). We concluded that IPM is an effective strategy for obtaining high rice yields in sustainable rice agro-ecosystems.

Measuring IPM Impacts in California and Arizona.

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a method of reducing economic, human health, and environmental risks from pests and pest management strategies. There are questions about the long-term success of IPM programs in relation to continued use of pesticides in agriculture. Total pounds of pesticides applied is a mis-measure of the impact of IPM in agriculture. A more complete measurement of the long-term impact of IPM includes consideration of changes in agricultural production practices and productivity, toxicity of the pesticides used, risks from human exposure to pesticides, and environmental sampling for pesticides in air and water resources. In recent decades, agricultural IPM programs have evolved to address invasive pests, shifts in endemic pest pressures, reductions in pest damage tolerance in markets, and increases in crop yields. Additionally, pesticide use data from Arizona and California revealed reduced use of pesticides in some toxicity categories but increased use of pesticides in a couple of categories. Data from federal and California programs that monitored pesticide residue on food have documented low pesticide risk to consumers. Environmental monitoring programs documented decreased pesticide levels in surface water resources in agricultural watersheds in the western United States and low levels of pesticides in air resources in agricultural areas in California. The focus of IPM assessment should be on reducing economic, human health, and environmental risks, not on pounds of pesticides applied. More broadly, IPM programs have evolved to address changes in pests and agricultural production systems while continuing to reduce human health and environmental risk from pesticides.

Trends in IPM and insecticide use in processing tomatoes in New Zealand

The ongoing development of an integrated pest management (IPM) programme for processing tomatoes has contributed in several ways to changes in insecticide use. This paper documents insecticide use in processing tomatoes in New Zealand from 1986 to 2005 using a range of data sources, including typical use patterns, grower records, experimental comparisons and industry reports. Changes in use patterns were associated with the development of key IPM strategies that are reviewed in this paper. Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) is the key pest of processing tomatoes in New Zealand. The establishment of effective larval parasitoids for this pest, together with pheromone trapping, plant scouting and action thresholds produced the initial incentive for growers to reduce insecticide applications. Risks from other pests in tomatoes, including aphids and thrips that transmit viruses, were identified and avoided by reducing virus sources. The minor but increasing risk of resistance by H. armigera to pyrethroid insecticides was quantified and provided additional impetus for reductions in early season applications of pyrethroids. Reductions of approximately 60% in overall insecticide use were associated with adoption of monitoring and increased parasitism. Typical use patterns and records showed that insecticide applications declined from approximately 8 pyrethroid applications per tomato crop in 1988 to 1 application per crop in 1994. The availability and choice of insecticide also changed over time, with trends to the use of more selective insecticides such as Bacillus thuringiensis and spinosad as they became available. The effectiveness of parasitoids allowed an increase in recommended action thresholds for insecticidal control, and the use of an adjustable threshold based on levels of parasitism was implemented by crop monitors and the processing industry. Annual records of insecticide use from 1995 to 2005 on about 60 crops that observed an adjustable threshold for H. armigera showed that by 2005 insecticide use was about one application per four crops. Overall, the decline in insecticide use over 20 years was in the order of 95%, and this was accompanied by a change to the predominant use of insecticides in classes with lower toxicity profiles. The relative importance of IPM components is discussed and the value of pesticide use data for evaluating the impact of IPM and directing research is emphasised.

Is Environmentally Friendly Agriculture Less Profitable for Farmers? Evidence on Integrated Pest Management in Bangladesh

Concerns about the sustainability of conventional agriculture have prompted widespread introduction of integrated pest management (IPM), an ecologically-based approach to control of harmful insects and weeds. IPM is intended to reduce ecological and health damage from chemical pesticides by using natural parasites and predators to control pest populations. Since chemical pesticides are expensive for poor farmers, IPM offers the prospect of lower production costs and higher profitability. However, adoption of IPM may reduce profitability if it also lowers overall productivity, or induces more intensive use of other production factors. On the other hand, IPM may actually promote more productive farming by encouraging more skillful use of available resources. Data scarcity has hindered a full accounting of IPM's impact on profitability, health, and local ecosystems. Using new survey data, the authors attempt such an accounting for rice farmers in Bangladesh. They compare outcomes for farming with IPM and conventional techniques, using input-use accounting, conventional production functions, and frontier production estimation. All of their results suggest that the productivity of IPM rice farming is not significantly different from the productivity of conventional farming. Since IPM reduces pesticide costs with no countervailing loss in production, it appears to be more profitable than conventional rice farming. The interview results also suggest substantial health and ecological benefits. However, externality problems make it difficult for farmers to adopt IPM individually. Without collective adoption, neighbors' continued reliance on chemicals to kill pests will also kill helpful parasites and predators, as well as exposing IPM farmers and local ecosystems to chemical spillovers from adjoining fields. Successful IPM adoption may therefore depend on institutional support for collective action.